Immersive Virtual Reality Avatars for Embodiment Illusions in People With Mild to Borderline Intellectual Disability:...

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Virtual Reality Therapy
• Intellectual Disability Research

Background:

• Immersive virtual reality (IVR) offers a practical, 'doing' approach for psychiatric treatment, potentially benefiting individuals with mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID).
• Avatar embodiment in IVR may enhance learning and usability for MBID individuals, but design requirements and feasibility are underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• Establish design guidelines for IVR embodiment illusions in people with MBID.
• Explore factors influencing embodiment, including avatar appearance, locomotion, and object manipulation.
• Assess feasibility and provide procedural guidance for inducing IVR embodiment illusions.

Main Methods:

• User-centered study with 29 participants with MBID in care facilities.
• Investigated avatar appearance, controller-based locomotion (teleport, joystick, hybrid), and object manipulation.
• Conducted 3 iterative studies with semistructured interviews and measured sense of embodiment (SoE) during 5 interaction tasks.

Main Results:

• IVR embodiment illusions are inducible in adults with MBID.
• High user control over the avatar body is more critical than appearance customization for embodiment.
• Highest SoE observed during combined locomotion and object manipulation tasks; implausible interactions negatively impacted SoE.

Conclusions:

• Balancing embodiment immersion through interaction habituation and reduced customization is key for high SoE and usability in MBID individuals.
• Future research should focus on natural IVR avatar interactions using multisensory integration and advanced techniques.
• Explore IVR procedures and learning applications for tailored mental health therapies for MBID.